Apis Dorsata And Related Species

The large single-comb nests of the giant honey bee, A. dorsata, built in the open, are still the most important source of honey in India and some other tropical Asian countries. A. dorsata is present in most of the Indo-Malayan region, from the Indus River in the west to the eastern end of the

Indonesian chain of islands, and from the Himalayas to Java in the south. A. breviligula is in the Philippines, and A. binghami in the Celebes. In the high Himalayas, A. laboriosa—a species even larger than A. dorsata—nests up to 3000 m, whereas A. dorsata rarely nests above 1250 m.